12This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently, obeying his commands and maintaining their faith in Jesus. 13And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this down: Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their hard work; for their good deeds follow them!”
Revelation 14:12-13
At the end of this Gem I will leave you on the brink of revealing a secret name for God and opening up a treasure trove of meaning to you. But first we need to put the pieces together just as they were given to John. Let me repeat again in full Gordon Fee’s comment I gave you in summary in Gem 2318.
‘Thus this remarkable paragraph, occurring as it does without numbers, please! as a follow up to the dreadful, painful scenes of chapter 13, serves to assure John’s readers, yet again that even though it will get worse, far worse, before it gets better, they nonetheless are the apple of God’s eye.
Gordon D Fee, Revelation p 194
Again my summary comment is that we have to read all of this together. It all flows as one. I learned from Gordon Fee about the concept of Sense Units and have developed it over the years since he first introduced me to it in the early nineties. We need to learn to read across chapter boundaries. John didn’t put the chapter breaks in, the publishers did; the formality of written language demands it. But many times chapter breaks masked the true intent and flow of a biblical writer’s purpose. Do you see now the importance of this portion of Revelation as it relates to the martyrs? The beginning of Revelation 12 reminds us we are in this comic battle for our souls because there is a battle in heaven. John takes us right back to the cause of it in the heavenlies. Two verses sum it up for us:
And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens! And you who live in the heavens, rejoice!
But terror will come on the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you in great anger, knowing that he has little time.”
Revelation 12:11-12
Following that [Revelation 13] we have John poking fun at the dragon and the kingdom of darkness in its pathetic attempt to replicate the Kingdom of light and of God. I believe I made that as clear as I could. Notice the first statement in the quote above. They defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony, not loving their lives even to the point of death! It can’t get any clearer than that. John then opens Revelation 14 with the vision he saw of the martyrs singing the song no one else can sing. In the Gems I drew out for you the precious place worship and songs have in heaven and on earth for those who are redeemed and have the assurance of their salvation! This flow all comes from God. God is the one giving vision after vision to John and adding words of explanation along the way.
At this point we have three, not seven angels, involved in conveying God’s revelation to us. That’s right, it’s the Revelation of God or the Revelation of Jesus Christ. The revelation revolves around the same Eternal Gospel that was established at the foundation of the world. Need I remind you of the wonderful statement of prophecy hidden in the Genealogy of Genesis 5? This Gospel is now broadcast by the first of the “other angels” flying through the air sharing the same Good News in a LOUD voice. The second “other angel” tells John’s compatriots Rome has fallen – another use of the prophetic perfect making it clear Rome is defeated even though it didn’t appear so at the time of writing. Finally, the third “other angel” reminds the children of God [John 1:12] not to fall for satan’s ploy and worship him or take his mark of ownership. Do you see this statement is a reminder or repetition of Revelation 12:11-12? We are dealing with the same Gospel and the same warning to the people of God. Don’t fall for satan’s lies!
Now we are up to date and I have led you to the point of John’s latest injunction to us.
This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently, obeying his commands and maintaining their faith in Jesus.
Revelation 14:12
And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this down: Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their hard work; for their good deeds follow them!”
Revelation 14:13
How are we to view these two verses? I believe there are two ways. Some see this as John switching his role as seer and prophet to address his readers as overseer and shepherd. This is something which frequently occurs in this letter. For example:
This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently and remain faithful.
Revelation 13:10
Wisdom is needed here.
Revelation 13:18
This calls for a mind with understanding:
Revelation 17:9
The other way of interpreting this portion of Revelation 14 is to view it as being something God-led. I would suggest at this point that you go back to read Gem 2190 Whose Revelation Is It? John’s or Jesus’? and Gem 2191 A Glimpse at the Simplicity of Revelation. Is it John who is adding this element as a seer, overseer or shepherd or is the flow and emphasis coming from heaven? I am using heaven here as a reference to God the Father and/or Jesus the Lamb of God. I personally think the way chapters 12 to 13 are put together are a sense unit which culminates with the martyrs and the fact that they don’t for a moment shrink back from their willingness to die for the One Who is the Resurrection and the Life. They will not for a nanosecond consider their lives on this earth as more precious than their obedience to their LORD as a martyr.
Following the opening five verses, of what Robert Estienne has separated as chapter 14, we have God’s message to his people of all ages via three angels. This message is spoken by a flying angel LOUD enough for everyone on the earth to hear irrespective of their nation, tribe, language and people group. How many times have we heard that refrain before? Once again I would suggest you look at Gem 2239 Tribe, Language, People, Nation – Does it Matter? (Revelation 5:9-10) and you can keep reading until Gem 2243 if you wish or beyond. Note that there are seven occurrences of this list and its variations through the Letter of Revelation. Revelation 14:6 is the 6th iteration of it. Are you gaining the impression that the Revelation of Jesus the Lamb is perfectly constructed?
Now let’s stop to think about Revelation 14:13. Notice how the verse begins with John hearing a voice from heaven saying ““Write this down: Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their hard work; for their good deeds follow them!”
What do you think was meant by “this” in the instruction “write this down”?
Is this:
- John, write down what I am about to say . . . ?
- John, write down what you have just heard . . . ?
- John, write down all that has just been given to you including the “rest of verse 13”?
I think after having been given the above, the voice from heaven tells John to write:
Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on.
Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed,
for they will rest from their hard work;
for their good deeds follow them!
Is it clear now?
John, write down what the Godhead is saying:
- Blessed are those who die in the LORD from now on.
- The Spirit of God also says Yes [and amen] they are blessed indeed.
- For they will rest from their hard work.
- for their deeds will follow them.
What does that even mean when you unpack it? Well, let’s spend a little longer on it. What does it mean to “die in the Lord”? Think of Paul’s term, those who are “in Christ”. Or think of John’s terminology found in John 1:12 and 20:31. [The bookends of John’s Gospel]
But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.
John 1:12
But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.
John 20:31
That, Dear Readers, applies to all who are “in Christ” and die “in Christ”. The martyrs will receive an extra portion of blessing due to the fact they didn’t shrink back in the face of death regarding their trust in Jesus Christ to grant them the Life of the Age to Come. But take note of the use of the words “from now on”. This was written by John at the end of the 1st Century AD. This means the promise applies to everyone who dies in Christ from that point of time until now and beyond to the moment Christ comes again. You will enter into the rest talked about in Hebrews 3:7 to 4:13. This promise applies to everyone who trusts Christ to save them. But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name. John is thinking of those who believe and keep on believing, those who trust and keep on trusting.
In case you’re troubled or wavering over the words “for their deeds will follow them”, this expression does not mean your deeds, “the things you have done or accomplished in and through or for God” will get you into heaven. That is not the meaning of what is written here. The sense is to be found in the context of the martyrs as seen through the witnesses in Hebrews 11. The onlooking saints will tell of your example of faith as the martyrs sing the song only the martyrs know the words to – i.e. (the memory of what you did will accompany you).
In the next Gem I will share The Secret of God’s Obscure Name, Ha-Makom. Don’t miss it!
It must be important when seven angels are involved in bringing the message, three of them share the parts and the one with the loudest voice flies around the world broadcasting it for all to hear. No wonder God told John to write the punchline down.
Ian
There was no redemptive plan for the fallen angels. There did not have to be one for us either. Tremble with thankfulness.
John Piper
When you think you get it, God has a way of sending angels to tell you, you don’t get it.
Paul Scanlon
He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.
Jim Elliot, missionary martyr at the hand of the Waorani in Ecuador.